Wide arch insole



June 5, 1956 w. M, SCHOLL 2,748,502

WIDE ARCH INSOLE Filed June 13. 1952 ff if A A l f MHE United StatesPatent z,74s,soz

WIDE ARCH rNsoLE william M. schon, chicago, nl. Application June 13,1952,*Serial No. 293,371

1 claim. (c1. 36-44) This invention relates to improvements in a widearch l insole, and more particularly to a cushion type insole for freedisposition in an article of footwear, the insole being particularlyshaped to give added comfort to the parts of the foot in the vicinity ofthe longitudinal arch, although the invention will have other uses andpurposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the past, many and various types of freely insertable insoles havebeen developed, but in every instance of which I am aware, theseinsoles, while underlying the full plantar surface of the human foot,were sized in keeping with the built-in insole of a shoe, so as to lieintimately over that built-in insole, and, if anything, were slightlyless in overall area and width at various points than the built-ininsole. Consequently, the foot turned away in the region of thelongitudinal arch from the cushion insole, in substantially the samemanner that the foot turns away from the built-in insole in the sameregion. 'Ihe fact that the cushion insole provided a greater height inthis region, left a space between the foot and the shoe upper in theshank portion of the shoe and consequently the structure would not be ascomfortable and well fitting as is desirable. t

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide a cushion type insole for free insertion in anarticle of footwear, which insole is wider than usual in the region ofthe longitudinal arch, so that it lies over the built-in insole of theshoe or the like, and extends up on the inside arch of the shoe upper.

Another object of the instant invention is the provision of an insolefor insertion in an article of footwear, which is so constructed that itturns upwardly along with the curvature of the sho-e upper in the regionof the inner longitudinal arch, and thus gives greater comfort andbetter lit to substantially any type of shoe.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a cushion type insolefor insertion in an article of footwear, such as a shoe, and whichinsole, while substantially following the contour of the built-in insoleof the shoe throughout, is shaped to snug up against the curvate portionof the shoe upper in the region of the inner longitudinal arch, beyondthe extent cushion type insoles have heretofore done, and thus givegreater comfort to the user and better iit to the shoe.

Still a further feature of this invention resides in the provision of aninsole for insertion in an article of footwear, such as a shoe or thelike, which is simple in construction, highly economical, may belaundered whenever desired, aifords ventilation to the foot, and alsocontacts the fleshy part of a foot in the region of the longitudinalarch in a manner to give greater comfort to the wearer.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in Which- Figure l is a top plan view of an insoleembodying 2,748,502 Patented June 5, 195,6

improvements of the instant invention, indicating the difference inshape over an insole of the same general character heretofore known;

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged central vertical sectional view throughthe insole of Fig. l; and l Figure 3 is a transverse sectional viewillustrating the disposition of the insole inside a shoe, looking towardthe rear of the shoe and taken substantially in the location indicatedby the section line III- III of Fig. l.

As shown on the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention there is shown an insolegenerally indicated by numeral 1 of the insertable type for freedisposition in a preformed article of footwear, such as a shoe or thelike. The insole is preferably of uniform thickness throughout, andcomprises a sheet 2 of cushioning material which is preferably foamlatex because of its lightness in weight, the fact that the cellstherein are intercommunicative thus providing ventilation, it is readilylaundered when desired, and retains its restorative powers indefinitely,and does not compact or vulcanize by virtue of body heat and pressure.This layer of cushioning material 2 is covered with a thin cover 3 whichmay satisfactorily be of a smooth slick surfaced fabric.

With reference to Fig. l it will be seen that the insole is given acontour different from that of insoles heretofore known and commonlyused heretofore. The dotted lines 4 indicate the shape of insoles ofthis character heretofore used. It will be noted that the dotted linesare narrower than the instant insole in the region of the longitudinalarch of the foot. The known insole as represented by the dotted lineswas of a shape and size consistent with the built-in insole of a shoe,and would overlie such a built-in insole almost exactly, being ifanything, slightly less in area than the built-in insole. The instantinvention distinguishes itself from these heretofore known insolesmainly by the additional width in the region of the longitudinal arch asindicated at 5 and 6 in Fig. 1. The portion 5 being adjacent the outerlongitudinal arch need not be as wide as the portion 6 which is adjacentthe inner longitudinal arch, where there is a greater upward curvaturein a foot.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated rather diagrammatically a cross section ofa shoe including an outer sole 7, a filler 8, a built-in insole 9, andan upper 10. Now if the heretofore known type of insertable insole wereplaced in the shoe of Fig. 3, it would overlie the built-in insole 9only, and extend upwardly from the points 11 and 12. Thus there would bea considerable rise straight up from these poiri'ts and the foot of auser would not contact the shoe upper for a considerable space on eachside of the longitudinal arch portion of the foot. Thus, there would besome discomfort in that a normal foot would not be contacting the shoeor anything in it at these points at all, while a weak foot would tendto drop so the ileshy parts would contact the shoe, adding to theaggravating condition of such foot.

However, when the instant insole is placed in the shoe, it will be notedthat the portion 5 snugs against the curved part of the upper beyond thebuilt-in insole 9, and the portion 6 on the opposite side, curvesupwardly along with the upper to a greater extent because of its greaterwidth and also snugs against the upper. Therefore, there is contact ofthe foot with the insole and upper substantially throughout, and thiscontact is in accord with the structure of a normal foot. Thus, a normalfoot will be more comfortable, the shoe will t better, and the wearerwill be more pleased and satisfied and acquire more beneit than with thenarrow type insole heretofore known. In addition, it will be noted thatthe instant structure wlll provide benecial aid to a weak foot by leftuncovered and when this cushionV sheet i'sf made of ai substance such asfoam latex', it will exert al gentle fric-1 tional gripping action onthe built-ini insole and adjacent upper portion of the shoe, andl thus;stay in proper posi tion without the aid of any additional securenentmeans such as adhesive or the like. Thus the insole may be changed fromone shoe to another at the will of the' user, may be removed andlaundered whenever necessary, and adequate ventilation is attainable atall times` over the entire cushion sheet.

From the foregoing it is apparent that I have provided a simple form ofinsole for free insertion` a preformed article of footwear, whichiseconomical, long lived, interchangeable from one shoe to another, andwhich adds greatly to the comfort of the user, lends beneficial aid to aweak foot, and renders any shoe better fitting, thus providing a muchbetter feel to the user.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be eectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

A cushion type insole comprising a at one-piece sheet of soft resilientcushioning material of uniform thickness throughout, said sheet having arelatively Wide intermediate transverse portion with opposite upwardlyextending lateral margins, said outer lateral margin extending ap- A:proximately from the ball line to the heel breast line, and said innerlateral margin extending approximately into the toe area and in to theheel area of the insole, whereby greater comfort and support is impartedto the user along the inner and outer longitudinal arches of the foot.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS968,020 Yandoll Aug. 23, 1910 1,111,361 Carr Sept. 22, 1914 1,208,638Phillips Dec. 12, 1916 1,248,108 Hays Nov. 27, 1917 1,630,135 RobertsMay 24, 1927 2,502,774 Alianiello Apr. 4, 1950 2,505,508 Shapiro Apr.25, 1950 2,537,156 Pennell Jan. 9, 1951 2,563,092 Zacks Aug. 7, 19512,585,692 Scholl Feb. 12, 1952 2,648,144 Stein Aug. 11, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 6,131 Great Britain of 1892 196,958 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1938569,226 Great Britain May 14, 1945 626,052 France May 2, 1927 865,645France Mar. 3, 1941 867,651 France Aug. 18, 1941

